In 2014, Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation released “An Impact Analysis: Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Tennessee, 2004-2014,” demonstrating how the Imagination Library program is making a difference in early childhood literacy based on 10 years of research...
Imagination Library
Free Books Work: Impact of Book Delivery Programs
The Hechinger Report writes on the efficacy of book delivery programs, summarizing a recent study done to measure the impact of free books on developing a child’s early literacy skills. The article notes, “Literacy experts have long known that reading to toddlers,...
Imagination Library Improves 3rd-5th Grade Performance, Attendance & Behavior: 2017 Seeding Success, Shelby County Study
Seeding Success, a Memphis-based education collaborative, partnered with Shelby County Schools to analyze academic and non-academic variables for approximately 19,000 Kindergarten through Fourth Grade students between the academic years 2013/14 and 2015/16 who were...
Books from Birth Increases Toddler Language Development: Porter-Leath, Shelby County Survey
Porter-Leath, sponsoring organization for Books from Birth, Shelby County’s Imagination Library affiliate, surveyed Early Head Start, Head Start, and Pre-K families in 2017-2018 who were also enrolled in Books from Birth to measure the program’s impact on early...
Imagination Library Leads to Higher 2nd Grade Test Scores: Urban Child Institute, Shelby County Studies
The Urban Child Institute, in partnership with Memphis City Schools, evaluated Shelby County’s Books from Birth program, the local Imagination Library affiliate, and its effects on kindergarten readiness in 2012 with a follow-up study in 2014. Their analysis indicates...
Imagination Library Prepares Children for Kindergarten: 2007 Tennessee Board of Regents Statewide Study
In 2007, the Tennessee Board of Regents completed the first large-scale study of the Imagination Library’s impact on the learning preparedness of children enrolled in public schools at that time. Tennessee Kindergarten and Pre-K teachers collectively affirmed that...
Imagination Library Graduates 1.2X More Likely to Read on Grade Level: 2014-2015 Knox County Schools Study
“An Analysis of Early Literacy Assessment Performance Among Knox County Imagination Library Participants: 2014-15 Knox County Kindergarten Class” In this study, early literacy data was collected through Knox County Schools’ formative testing to determine how former...
Imagination Library Graduates Outperform Peers on 3rd Grade TCAP Tests: 2009-2012 Knox County Study
During the autumn of 2009, Knox County Schools investigated the relationship between Imagination Library students and their kindergarten peers on the Kindergarten Literacy Assessment. They found that students in the Imagination Library program performed statistically...
Imagination Library Improves Head Start School Readiness: 2010 Hamblen County Study
In 2006, Hamblen County developed a student readiness survey that was administered to Hamblen County preschool students and 3 & 4 year old Head Start students. Data collected, along with quotes from parents, preschool teachers, Head Start instructors, and...
Reading Feeds Brain Development: Quality Shared Reading & Frequency Matters (Dr. John Hutton)
Dr. John S. Hutton, MD, MS, is a pediatrician and clinical researcher in the Division of General and Community Pediatrics and Director of the Reading Literacy Discovery Center. Dr. Hutton's research at Cincinnati Children's covers all facets of pediatric general and...